Editorial: Our goals as editors of Behavioral Disorders

* Behavioral Disorders is a high-quality empirical journal with a reputation for rigorous peer review. The efforts of our editorial predecessors have left us a remarkable legacy of quality scholarship and high standards of responsibility to the profession and the children and youths that we serve. It is appropriate for us to acknowledge the outgoing editor, Jim Kauffman. In the years that each of us has known him, Jim has been a true friend, a model of scholarship, a fountain of encouragement, and a constant reminder that what we do is important. The field of education and treatment of children and youths with emotional or behavioral disorders (E/BD) owes a debt to Jim Kauffman that cannot be overestimated.

As the newly appointed editors, our primary goal is to maintain this high standard. We also seek to encourage growth and advancement by:

1. Providing substantial encouragement for early career researchers.

2. Increasing the number and diversity of early career researchers on the review board.

3. Systematically increasing the number or reviewers actively reviewing manuscripts.

4. Promoting attention to research on instruction for students with E/BD.

5. Promoting increased interagency understanding and communication.

We will continue to seek the work and provide encouragement for early career researchers through direct contact at conferences, correspondence, help on submission of manuscripts, and response to direct inquiries. The "Brief Report" papers, a continuing feature of Behavioral Disorders, reflect a continuing effort to acknowledge and encourage the work of early career researchers. Related to this goal, we will continue to expand our reviewer pool with the diverse perspectives and contributions of early career researchers.

As we increase the number of reviewers actively reviewing manuscripts, we hope to provide excellent matches between manuscript topics and reviewer areas of interest and expertise and to have more reviewers available to provide timely, comprehensive reviews of manuscripts.

We will continue to seek the submission of high-quality manuscripts dedicated to instructional interventions for students with E/BD and those that promote increased interagency understanding and communication. Recent initiatives, including the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-110) and the report issued by the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education, reinforce the importance of high-quality, effective educational programs and the need for attention to the comprehensive behavioral, academic, and transition needs of students with E/BD. The upcoming reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) will include public discussion of concern and disagreement about the education of students with E/BD. Our goals are that Behavioral Disorders will provide an excellent source for high-quality information about (a) what we are learning to improve practice and best serve students with E/BD and (b) how to work together, with parents, across agencies, regulations, and disciplines. We will encourage systemic and cross-disciplinary perspectives needed to improve services and outcomes.

In this and all issues, we dedicate our editorial responsibilities to a focus on empirical research, strong scholarship, and a high-quality, broadly based peer review process. The strength of Behavioral Disorders is our diverse audience of researchers, savvy practitioners, and policymakers. We value your perspectives and look forward to your continuing input and contributions.

[Author Affiliation]

Martha Coutinho

Frederick J. Brigham

Co-editors